THE ROLE OF THE KOKAND FORTRESS JULEK IN THE ADVANCE OF RUSSIAN FORCES INTO THE TURKESTAN REGION (1858–1861)

Abstract

The article analyzes the military-strategic and political significance of the Kokand fortress Julek in the context of the Russian Empire’s advance into the Turkestan during the years 1858-1861. Based on the examination of archival sources, memoirs, scholarly literature, by military and administrative officials, the study investigates Julek’s role as a key link in the implementation of the imperial strategy to unite the Syr Darya and Siberian lines. Special attention is paid to the involvement of the Kazakh tribal aristocracy and intelligence networks, which actively assisted Russian forces by providing logistical and informational support for the campaigns. The article argues that Julek should not be viewed as a peripheral outpost but rather as a crucial element of military infrastructure that determined the success of the subsequent advance on Tashkent. The study demonstrates that the traditional historiographical underestimation of such fortresses calls for a revision of prevailing interpretations of the mechanisms of imperial expansion in Central Asia.